Chances appear good for education reform in 2013 Iowa Legislature

Proposed career paths for teachers could hit rough sledding, though.

Jan. 2, 2013

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Education reform proposals

Gov. Terry Branstad will release his official education reform package in mid-January. The following estimates were provided to The Des Moines Register in November by the Iowa Department of Education. Increase pay, offer more career choices: $150 million• Raise base pay for beginning teachers by $7,000, bringing the minimum salary from $28,000 to $35,000 over three years. • Offer stipends of $5,000 to $6,000 to teachers working in high-need subjects or schools. • Develop career pathways marked by differentiated compensation. A model proposed by the state includes initial, career, model, mentor and master teachers. Educators would have to demonstrate effectiveness to move from one job to another. The package includes an “inflationary factor for education funding,” according to Gov. Terry Branstad. That money would be used to pay for release time for initial, mentor and master teachers. Recruit top students to education: $20 million• Offer two-year tuition reimbursements to 500 to 700 prospective Iowa teachers annually. Students would have to come from the top quarter of their college class and agree to work in the state for five years. • Launch a publicity campaign aimed at enticing more top performers to make teaching their profession. • Pilot a yearlong student-teaching experience. Diploma seals: $5 million• Require all high school students to complete end-of-course exams in algebra, English, science and U.S. history. • Give all high school juniors the chance to take the ACT or a career-readiness assessment. • Develop a statewide diploma seal initiative in coordination with the Iowa Workforce Development Skilled Iowa program. Iowa College and Career-Ready Promise seals would be affixed to a high school student’s diploma, depending on the course of study. Revamp evaluations: $1 million• Design new teacher and administrator evaluation policies, with the goal of developing a system that would be compatible with federal rules for No Child Left Behind waivers. Bolster online education: $1.5 million for three years• Expand Iowa Learning Online, a Web-based program facilitated by the Iowa Department of Education, allowing the number of students served to go from 700 to 5,000 within five years.

About this story

This is one in an occasional series of stories previewing issues facing the 2013 Iowa Legislature, which will convene on Jan. 14.

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Education reform will get a close look this year from legislators on both sides of the aisle, lawmakers say.

Gov. Terry Branstad will unveil his proposed school improvement plan in mid-January. The package, estimated to cost $177.5 million, includes higher teacher pay, tuition reimbursement for prospective educators and expanded career options for classroom teachers.

Although the governor’s attempts to restructure K-12 education stalled last year, legislators and education officials are optimistic that at least some reforms will be adopted in 2013. Debate over how best to bolster Iowa schools will begin Jan. 14, the kickoff of the state’s 110-day legislative session.

Outside forces are already ramping up the pressure on lawmakers. The state’s $800 million budget surplus is being eyed by many, including those pursuing school improvement. A group of 150 Iowa business leaders will meet Monday to discuss education reform.

The toughest battles will most likely focus on the central provision of the governor’s package, a $150 million plan to restructure teacher duties and compensation through creation of so-called career pathways. A model program developed this fall by a state task force included initial, career, model, mentor and master teachers. Educators who take on extra responsibilities under the plan would receive pay bumps.

“It does seem to be a valid approach to putting more time, effort and resources into teachers mentoring other teachers, and providing more time for teachers to work on their own professional development,” said Senate Education Committee Chairman Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. “But whether you do that by restructuring the whole teaching profession with different job titles, that’s still open to debate.”

Rep. Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City, who also agrees with the broad strokes of the governor’s plan, suggested there may be room for consensus. But Jorgensen, who leads the House Education Committee, is unsure whether Branstad’s proposal will ultimately win out.

“We need to make sure that we have the best possible teachers in the classroom. ... I think that’s crucial to student achievement,” Jorgensen said. “But (the development of teacher) career pathways — at this point, it’s not something I’m totally in favor of. It may make sense going forward, and it may not.”

The governor’s plan recommends raising base pay for Iowa teachers by $7,000, bringing the minimum salary from $28,000 to $35,000 over three years.

It also calls for creating a more collaborative workplace for educators, where high-quality teachers spend part of their day coaching peers, analyzing student achievement data or modeling teaching techniques for colleagues.

The governor said in November that the reforms would be phased in over the course of several years and would be paid for with the budget surplus.

Support for new, veteran teachers

Proposed support systems will help both new and veteran teachers tackle the challenge of preparing students to succeed in college and in the globally competitive workforce, said Linda Fandel, special assistant for education with the Branstad administration.

“We have a lot of good teachers in our classrooms, but we’re asking them to do work we’ve never asked teachers to do before, which is to prepare all students — not just some students — to succeed in a 21st-century economy,” Fandel said. “We’ve got to make sure that there’s great teaching in every classroom, not just in some schools or in some grades.”

Iowa students were among the top performers on national math and reading tests in the 1990s but have since slipped to the middle of the pack.

Only 30 percent of Iowa’s 23,119 ACT test-takers in the high school class of 2012 scored well enough to be considered ready for college-level work in English, reading, math and science.

And a third of Iowa high school graduates who attend the state’s community colleges take remedial classes, state data show.

Iowa schools remain good, but systemwide reforms like the ones recommended by the governor are needed for the state to reclaim its top-of-the-nation status, said Jason Glass, Iowa Department of Education director.

“I think we have to acknowledge the fact that we have areas where we could make dramatic improvements, and it’s time to do so,” he said. “We have a really good education system in Iowa, and some of that has kept us from adopting the reforms that can make our system great.”

Many of the proposed new roles for teachers already informally exist in schools, said Diane Pratt, a Fort Dodge educator who served on the task force. But because little time is allocated for collaboration during the school day, those unofficial partnerships have a limited value.

“What this would bring to Iowa is a systematic approach to the sharing of talents and goals and abilities,” Pratt said. “It’s not that teachers don’t want to share now; it’s just that they don’t have the time or the space to really learn from one another the way they want to.”

Cost of proposal worries some

The proposal’s high price tag, however, has made many leery, including Claire Leonard of Cedar Rapids.

Leonard, past president of the Iowa Parent Teacher Association, supports spending more on education but wants to make sure the dollars are wisely used.

Students would benefit from smaller class sizes and more in-school counseling services, she noted.

“I think there’s a real need for teacher mentoring, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily where we’re going to get the most bang for our buck,” she said.

Many educators are also withholding support for the plan until they see Branstad’s final proposal, said Mary Jane Cobb, executive director of the Iowa State Education Association.

The creation of initial, career, model, mentor and master teachers is included in a state task force report that is said to be the model for Branstad’s bill.

“In very broad terms, a lot of educators like what’s being proposed,” she said. “Anything we can do that gives teachers a greater role in deciding how schools operate and how students learn is going to benefit kids.”

Other reforms Branstad will most likely introduce include diploma seals for students, enhanced teacher and principal evaluations, expanded online education options and a program to recruit top students into the teaching profession.

A $25 million education reform plan proposed by the governor last year was opposed at the Statehouse by both Democrats and Republicans. Only $2 million in new money was ultimately appropriated, with funding focused on boosting early reading skills.

Whether or not Branstad’s ideas win out this year, Jorgensen predicts a substantial education bill will make its way to the floor.

“From my standpoint, doing nothing is not acceptable,” he said. “We need to do whatever we can to get the state back to leading the country in education.”

Quirmbach agreed that significant education reforms are likely in 2013.

“If the House Republicans are willing to put some money on the table, I think that in the Senate — if it’s a worthwhile expenditure — we’re willing to make some additional sacrifice for education,” he said.